Hannah King
Academy News
King is "Queen" Of Girls 16 National Open
Congratulations to Hannah King for another National Championship for her trophy case. Hannah King, only 14 years old, played up in the girls 16’s and as an unseeded player beat #5, #3 and the #2 seed in her quest to the Championship.
Hannah also teamed up with Windward Academy standout Kourtney Keegan to win yet another National Championship in Doubles.
Congratulations girls!
Lindsay Hodge
Hodge Takes 1st at National Open
Congratulations to Lindsey Hodge for WINNING The Girls 14’s National Open in Dothan, Al.
Lindsey was the #2 seed in singles and, on her way to the final, she beat the #8 and #4 seeds. In the final, she beat the #1 seeded Allison Miller in a tough three setter.
Lindsey also competed in doubles with partner Jesse Lynn Paul from Greenville, NC. They were the #2 seeds and once again Lindsey came out with another National Championship trophy with Paul beating Halbauer/Martin in the final!!!
Two National Championships in one tournament is a career for most players but for Lindsey it’s just another notch in her belt. In Lindsey’s case, sometimes the “nice girl” does Finish 1st.
Kourtney Keegan
Keegan still on Winning Path
Congratulations to Kourtney Keegan for an outstanding Girls 16 National Open performance. Kourtney breezed to the semi-final, and lost a tough match to finish third. Keegan followed her Gold Ball National Championship performance in Arizona in late December by reaching at least the semi-finals in back to back National tournaments.
Kourtney teamed up with Windward’s Hannah King to win the Girls 16’s Doubles Championship. Awesome Job Kourtney!!!
Windward Takes First at Academy Challenge
A Cold Day for the Inaugural Academy Jr. Tennis Round Robin
The first-ever Academy Jr. Team Tennis Round Robin was rescheduled from its original January 9 date because it was nine degrees at match time. Coaches and USTA Georgia staff agreed to reschedule for January 23. While the temperature hovered around 40 degrees with wind and clouds, players were in shorts and tank tops, while spectators were dressed more like football fans than tennis fans.
Four academies participated in the one-day league program: Tennis Academy of the South (TAS), Windward Lakes Academy, Universal Tennis Academy (UTA) and Stephan Diaz Academy. In total, over 80 of the top players in the 14 & Under and Over 14 age divisions in Atlanta gathered at Windward Lakes Club to represent their respective academies. Despite the weather conditions, it was “game on” for the players.
The level of play was phenomenal, with several players ranked as high as #1 in Georgia, and/or with sectional and national rankings. Several of the players have received tennis scholarships to play for top-ranked programs in the country, including UGA and University of Alabama. Although many of the players had played JTT previously, several were new to the team format.
As good as the on-court play was, the sportsmanship demonstrated by the players, parents and coaches was even better. Players had fun in a more relaxed atmosphere, and they responded well to having teammates cheering for them, and for whom they could cheer. Parents were very supportive of all the players, and the coaches did a great job with their line-ups and coaching of players. And, all of this was accomplished without officials! Way to go guys!
USTA Georgia Director of Competition, Rick Davison, was the organizer of the round robin event. It’s easy to see why the juniors, coaches and parents think so highly of him, as not only managed play, he cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for well over 100 people! USTA Georgia would like to thank Leslie Sanders for her assistance with entering scores and helping to keep things moving along.
The competition was extremely close with only two points separating the four teams in the 14 & Under Division. Windward Lakes and TAS were tied with nine individual matches won, and had to play a MXD 10-point tiebreak to determine a winner. With all the academy players gathered around the court to watch the tiebreak, Windward Lakes won the title.
See Pics at here at USTAGeorgia.com
Kate Fuller
Kate Fuller tops #1 Rated UGA Recruiting Class
From www.tennisrecruiting.net
Dawgs Lead the Pack
Our 18 panelists had a hard time agreeing on who should be at the top - the first-place votes were spread across seven different programs. The Duke Blue Devils, defending national champions and No. 1 in the Campbell's/ITA Rankings, received the most first-place votes. But our voters gave the nod to the Georgia Bulldogs as the top recruiting class for 2010.
Head coach Jeff Wallace, the nation's winningest active women's tennis coach and the 2009 Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year, leads a Georgia program that has been a premier program for years, bringing home two NCAA titles. The Bulldogs went 27-3 in 2009, capturing their third straight SEC tournament title and reaching the Final Four in College Station, Tex. They stand at No. 4 in the latest ITA rankings.
Although Georgia has its sights set on a return trip to the Final Four in 2010 - this time on their home courts in Athens - the future also looks bright for the Bulldogs. Coach Wallace and Coach Frank Polito have put together a three-member class consisting of Blue Chip athletes Kate Fuller and Lilly Kimbell and 4-Star prospect Rachael Hart. Our voters rated those three as the top class for 2010. We carried commitment announcements for Fuller and Kimbell earlier this year....
Kourtney Keegan
Keegan Takes National Championship
Windward's Kourtney Keegan, unseeded in the girls
16 event, won her first national championship in Arizona. 15 year
old Kourtney, from Roswell, beat out the nations best with a series
of upset victories. In the Final, she faced a fellow non seed, in
Rachael Reed. Reed had knocked out many of the tournaments top players
in reaching the final. Despite being behind early, Kourtney was
able to rally and win the first set 6-4 with some high level tennis.
In second she maintained her high level to win 6 games to 3. Congratulations
from all the Windward staff.
For more go to www.tennisrecruiting.net
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